Vucic urges Serbian government to consider all options before deciding on NIS
Belgrade seeks after avoiding any radical steps, noted Serbian President
BELGRADE, November 16. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic urged the government at the Cabinet meeting to consider all the possible options before making the final decision on NIS oil and gas company.
No decision will be made immediately at the current meeting but there is actually no time left for considerations, the Serbian leader said. "There is no decision at present but we can make the decision tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, two days after tomorrow. We are obliged to finally decide before the next week," he noted.
The head of state confirmed readiness to continue communications with the Russian side. Serbia can make an offer if Moscow and the third party do not agree upon the price, he said. "If Russians fail to come to terms on the price with a third party, my proposal is to consider an option that we offer the best price," Vucic said.
Belgrade seeks after avoiding any radical steps, he stressed. "I want to avoid confiscation, nationalization and property seizure at any cost. I want the whole world to see: we do not want to detract something from anyone," Vucic noted.
US OFAC told Belgrade earlier about the requirement to completely oust Russian shareholders from NIS. The US said in writing that it does not accept any decisions on change of control without the change of the owner and excluded the possibility for Russian participation to be kept via affiliates of Gazprom or the Russian government sector.